The Poco a Poco Podcast with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Episode 197 - Marian Posture, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 2) Is your prayer and your life two separate realities?  Mary gives us a ton of hope that the grace of God and the Holy Spirit meet us in reality.  The Marian posture at the core of it is about the reality of the fullness of God. Mary teaches us that The best place to live your spiritual life is in reality—in where you are right now in this moment. It's about living one reality in the presence of God. This episode is an invitation for us to have confidence in the daily bread and the grace given to us here and now. Let's not spend our time fantasizing about the change out there but try and respond as best as possible to what's currently there. Let's engage every part of our reality with the Lord while having a deep sense of his love and attentiveness as we respond in those moments.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 196 - Mary: A Real Mom, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 1) How important is Mary, Our Lady, in your spiritual life?  Our Lady is a real woman, a real mother to all of us and Mary's intercession is actually more real than we realize.  The gift of Our Lady is that she looks upon us, she knows our hearts, and her gaze can be the first safe and secure place in a world of filled insecurity. At this same moment, Mary wants us to look upon her and it is in this exchange where we find safety and security in our lives through a contemplative experience with her. In this episode, as we start our mini-series on Fr. Jeremiah's book, we are going to talk about Mary—a real mom, an invitation to gain a different understanding of Mary and learn about the importance of viewing the world through her eyes. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

The podcast discusses the loss of hope in prayer due to repetition and routine. They explore the importance of approaching prayer with wonder and openness. They emphasize the virtue of hope in maintaining a joyful relationship with God. The speakers share personal experiences and reflections on criticism, hope, and spirituality. The chapter includes casual conversations on godfatherhood, debates, hope, gratitude, and book recommendations.

Episode 194 - The Sweet Way of Love How much focused are you toward yourself? There can be times when we struggle with perfectionism, control, and activism, and this can sometimes rub off on our spiritual life.  Jesus does not demand great actions from us; rather, the invitation is simply to live in surrender and gratitude to Him. At times, we can take a more Pelagian approach where more emphasis is given to our efforts, initiatives, and self-improvement—our achievement of holiness rather than the primacy being given to God and it being His work. This gift of grace is the sweet way of love that Jesus sets before the little and the poor and that's what we're gonna talk about in this episode. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 193 - C'est la confiance Are you worried for 2024?  Worry is a lack of confidence and we can be worried about a lot of stuff. The invitation from St. Therese and from our Lord is to have confidence in Him. We who run in the way of love shouldn't be thinking of suffering that can take place in the future. That's a lack of confidence. The complete confidence that becomes an abandonment in love sets us free from obsessive calculations, constant worry about the future, and fears that take away our peace.  If we are in the hands of a Father who loves us without limits, this will be the case come what may. We will be able to move beyond whatever may happen to us. And in one way or another, his plan of love and fullness will come to fulfillment in our lives. This episode talks about how we can go into the year 2024 with confidence. And with's God grace, return to the present moment, and be in relationship with Him, with confidence and hope of what he will do in the time to come.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 192 - End of Year Identity Check What was Jesus like for you this year? As we end the year, let's do a poverty and identity check and put Jesus in the center as we look back to this past year and look forward to the coming year For this episode, a proposal to reflect on where Jesus has been, how He has been with you, how He loved you, and how He is loving you into this year. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 191 - Little Like Mary (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 4) How often do you say Yes, without understanding or knowing the outcome?  Sometimes we have to see and understand the plan before we say Yes, that's not our Lady's experience. She didn't understand but she knew what was proposed to him by God, and despite that, she said Yes. She trusts; she surrenders in this whole experience of her life without knowing what's gonna happen. This is the fourth part of this year's Advent series where we talk about Mary and her radical littleness and dependence on grace and God. An invitation to how we can become more and more dependent, more and more empty but with the confidence that we can be more and more full of God's grace.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 190 - Good St. Joseph (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 3) What's the best thing you learned from St. Joseph?  Advent teaches us that God has a different way of doing things and St. Joseph is an amazing example and witness of that. Throughout his life, St. Joseph should've had the opportunity to grasp human comfort or control, but instead, he chose to enter into humility, into silence, he didn't overthink, he didn't overtalk, but rather he trusted and was obedient to God while being completely attentive to Mary and Jesus.  This Advent, just like St. Joseph, we are invited to be radically open to what God wants us to do. Advent is not about evaluating everything but being with those who are most important and anchoring ourselves to God like St. Joseph did. This is the third part of this year's Advent series where we continue to look into the lives of different saints of Advent and for this episode, we're talking about the heart and experience of St. Joseph. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 189 - God is Working (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 2) With what's currently happening in the world, can you believe that God is working?? As exemplified by St. Juan Diego, during this Advent and throughout the year, we are invited to live in relationship with the Lord through Mary, our Mother, our Lady. We can do that by beginning with a humble Yes. Let's say Yes and allow ourselves to be interrupted by her intercession and have confidence in the love and trust she has for all of us—to trust that she is here and very much alive. For as Mary comes, she is with Jesus. Despite the discouragements in various parts of the world, there's also the truth that in the humblest places, God is working and we are always invited to keep crying out to Him. This episode is the second part of this year's Advent series, where we begin to look into the lives of different saints of Advent. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

The podcast discusses the concept of Nazareth and how it can be related to the Advent season. The hosts also share their experiences with walking and the challenges they face as Franciscans. The importance of preparing for Advent with joyful expectation is highlighted, along with the significance of feeling at home in unfamiliar places. The meaning of the word Nazareth is explored, emphasizing the idea of living a life dedicated to God.